Computational Finance Recruiting

Our graduates are in high demand within the quantitative finance industry. Review the latest employment statistics for detailed reports and learn more about recruiting MSCF students.

We are pleased that you are considering our MSCF students for your hiring needs and we look forward to working with you!

Carnegie Mellon created the first quantitative finance degree in 1994. Today, our Master of Science in Computational Finance (MSCF) is considered by many to be the top quantitative financial engineering program of its kind. Operating as a joint-venture between four Carnegie Mellon colleges (the Tepper School of Business, the Mathematical Sciences Department, the Department of Statistics and the Heinz College), the MSCF program offers a rigorous and cohesive set of twenty-five courses designed specifically for the needs of the quantitative finance industry.

Students learn traditional finance theories of equity and bond portfolio management, the stochastic calculus models on which derivative trading is based, computational methods including Monte Carlo simulation and finite difference approximations of partial differential equations, and statistical methodologies including regression and time series. Following a summer internship, students take courses in asset pricing, statistical arbitrage, risk management and dynamic asset management. In addition to VBA, Matlab, S+ and R, C++ is incorporated into the curriculum and students create software in several courses. The program concludes with a sophisticated financial computing course, an algorithmic trading competition and a case-based presentation course in financial engineering.

With few exceptions, MSCF graduates work in the financial services industry pursuing careers in derivatives trading and trading support, risk management, structured products, quantitative portfolio management and analytics. Our students’ impressive employment statistics attest to the high regard global financial services firms have for the education we provide. Over the last four years, 100 percent of our full-time MSCF students obtained summer internships and 83 percent accepted full-time positions within three months of graduation.

Three semesters in duration, students matriculate in the fall semester, complete the fall and spring semesters and pursue a summer internship from May through August. Following their summer internship, students return to campus (either Pittsburgh or New York) to complete their final semester and graduate in December.